A powdered medicine multiple dose metered feeding device capable of administering multiple doses each having a predetermined amount of powdered medicine has been conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This device has the construction as described below: Under the bottom surface of a medicinetorage chamber capable of storing powdered medicine for plural times of administering operation, there is provided a medicine container chamber capable of containing the powdered medicine for single delivery unit corresponding to single administering operation. A medicine guiding section kept in contact with the bottom surface of the medicinetorage chamber, is movable between a filling position and an administering position. At the filling position, it opens the medicine container chamber to the medicinetorage chamber, and at the administering position, it closes the medicine container chamber to the medicinetorage chamber, and at the same time, allows the medicine container chamber to communicate with the exterior of the device via a tube. When the medicine guiding section is at the filling position, the powdered medicine in the storage chamber is filled into the medicine container chamber, and while the medicine guiding section is being moved from the filling position to the administering position, the powdered medicine in the container chamber is metered by level measuring to a single delivery unit corresponding to a single administering operation, and at the administering position, operates a pump unit so as to send air via a filter into the container chamber to thereby eject the powdered medicine in the container chamber together with air through a tube out of the device.
The device disclosed in Patent References 1 and 2 has several advantages in that it requires only rotating operation and pumping operation to administer a predetermined amount of powdered medicine precisely by atomizing and inhaling, and therefore is easy to be operated in use, and convenient to be carried and is relatively cheap in manufacturing cost.
However, this device has no counter mechanism for displaying the number of administering operations of the powdered medicineo that it is sometimes difficult to know the amount of the powdered medicinetored in the device.
Also, a powdered medicineuction device having a counting mechanism has been also known (for example, Patent Documents 3-5). The counting mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 is characterized in that a pawl is engaged by a spring with either one of two gears having a common shaft, but having different depths, and these two gears are moved at the different interval with rotating motion. However, many parts are necessary and the structure is rather complicated. In a counting mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 4, a rotational operation of a suction device for spraying is to be cooperated with two gears having count display by means of two gears having different shafts. However, many parts are necessary and the structure is also complicated. In a counting mechanism disclosed in the Patent Document 5 is characterized in that a propeller-shaped actuator is moved in the up and down-ward is converted to rotating motion of the counter by means of a gear which is mechanically engaged with the propeller. Although this mechanism is not so complicated, it is not so suitable to a device in which the medicine filling operation can be done by a rotating motion, such as disclosed in the Patent-Document 1.
Patent Document 1: WO 00/41755 Specification
Patent Document 2: WO 01/95962 Specification
Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,924
Patent Document 4: WO 05/002654
Patent Document 5: WO 02/091293